


we are free and perfect

by acaciapines



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: F/F, realizing you 1) like girls and 2) said girl you like is your best friend, takes place after friendship hates magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-13 20:30:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18948268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acaciapines/pseuds/acaciapines
Summary: Lena's back, which means Webby can hug her again and be with her again and think thoughts likeI think I want to kiss youagain.





	we are free and perfect

Hours after Violet’s gone home, when it’s just her and Lena in a mostly empty house—her brothers off with Uncle Scrooge, Della off to crash the cruise Donald’s on, to say howdy, her Granny and Launchpad doing…whatever it is they’re doing—Webby sits on her bed and cries.

“You’re gonna have to stop doing that, Pink,” Lena says, but she’s been crying all night, too, and there’s nothing harsh in her words. Currently, she’s poking around Webby’s room, grabbing things and putting them back where they don’t belong, but Webby’s never had a strict organization system, anyways.

“I just can’t believe you’re _back,_ ” Webby says, through tears, and Lena comes over to her. Webby wraps her up in a hug and Lena laughs and hugs her back, and Webby’s heart feels like it’s about to burst. Like everything in her is too much and she wants to spill it out to the whole world, by which she means Lena and Lena alone.

“Yeah, well, hopefully it’s for good this time,” Lena says, and she falls back onto the bed when Webby releases her.

“You aren’t allowed to sacrifice yourself for me again!” Webby says, rolling over to poke at some of the rune dice that didn’t make it to the floor. “It’s my turn!” She rubs her friendship bracelet. “But hopefully there won’t ever be a next time.”

“You and me both,” Lena agrees, “I don’t ever want to go back to the shadow realm. It was the loneliest I’ve ever felt. You taught me what loneliness was, did you know that?”

“I did?” Webby asks. Lena sits up and shrugs, leaning her elbows on her knees and resting her face in her hands. “I’m sorry.”

Webby’s been lonely, before she met the boys and Lena. She can’t imagine teaching it to someone.

“Not on purpose, or anything!” Lena says. “It’s just, meeting you and then being trapped alone in the shadow realm without you…made me realize some things,” Lena says.

“You weren’t lonely before?” Webby asks. She hasn’t asked, about what Lena’s life was like before. She has her suspicions, but she doesn’t want to think about them because it means knowing that your best friend was trapped for years and you found out too late to help.

“I mean, probably, but I didn’t know that I was. I didn’t have anyone to miss, or whatever.” She sighs, and Webby pushes herself up just enough to pull Lena into another hug, because she knows Lena’s still not the best when it comes to hugging when she needs it.

“What was it like?” Webby asks, half-muffled in Lena’s sweater. She needs this, too. Hugging is a mutual thing, and Webby’s gone for months thinking her best friend was dead. But here she is, in the flesh. Webby can do things like _hug her,_ instead of curling up in bed with her friendship bracelet and crying on that.

Hmm. Lena probably saw that. Webby hugs her tighter.

“Okay, Pink, can’t breathe,” Lena says, and she pushes Webby gentle off her.

“Oh! Sorry,” Webby says, and she scoots back an inch or so. She doesn’t want to go too far, because what if Lena melts back into shadow? Webby has to be there to make sure nothing goes wrong again.

Lena shrugs. “S’all fine. As for what it was like…bad? Lonely? I don’t know what you want me to tell you, Webby. I watched you when I had the strength to. Tried to keep you safe, which is really hard when you have no way of interacting with the world and tend to materialize in the middle of dangerous adventures.

“Oops,” Webby says. She offers Lena what she hopes is a remorseful grin, but she’s still kinda crying, so she’s not sure if it comes across that way. “I wish I got you out sooner.”

She wishes for a lot of things. She wishes Lena never died in the first place. She wishes Lena never was trapped by Magica. She wishes Lena could be here _always,_ like an endless sleepover but without the death part of it.

“Hey, you tried, and that means the world to me,” Lena says. “And you did it!” she says, gesturing to herself, “if it wasn’t for you, I’d still be rotting in there.”

“Violet helped,” Webby reminds her. “We should invite her over again.”

“Maybe,” Lena says, turning away from her, and Webby frowns. That’s not a good sign.

“What’s wrong?” Webby asks. “I thought you liked her?”

Webby liked Violet. She was interesting and cool and helped get Lena back, which automatically puts her pretty high on Webby’s list of best friends. She was sad when Violet left—there was so much sleepover left! But she also maybe gets it?

She felt weird and awkward around Huey, Dewey, and Louie, at first. She was left behind, and that’s where she met Lena, and Webby thinks that not getting inside jokes and not being invited along is maybe similar to watching two people hug and cry on each other and not pay you any attention.

Another day. When Webby can look at Lena and not feel her eyes water.

“You know what I missed when I was trapped in the shadow realm?” Lena says, breaking the silence, and Webby tilts her head. “Brushing my teeth.”

“Uh, okay!” Webby says, shaking herself and making her way over to the ladder down. Lena’s not telling her something—those tulpas that took Webby earlier all wore Lena’s face—and that hurts, but Webby just got her back. If she pushes Lena and starts a fight, Webby’s not sure she’s equipped to handle that right now. “We can go do that.”

“Cool, let’s,” Lena says. She hops down beside Webby. “Race you there?”

Webby shakes her head. “Not tonight,” she says, and she reaches out to grab Lena’s hand. You know, for safety.

“Whatever you say, Webby,” Lena says, but there’s something soft in her tone and she squeezes back. Webby’s buzzy inside as they leave her room.

The mansion is quiet, quieter than it really should be. Webby’s used to it being loud, but tonight, it’s just her and Lena and maybe Granny and Launchpad? Webby’s got no idea what they’re doing, but if her Granny hasn’t stopped by to ask why Lena’s back when they all thought she was dead, then they’re obviously distracted.

“Where is everyone?” Lena asks as they turn a corner, “I assumed somebody would’ve shown up by now, to ask why I’m here.”

“Mostly out,” Webby says. “Oh, were you there when Della came back?”

“Who’s Della?” Lena asks, which answers that question pretty well.

“Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s mom,” Webby explains, “I’ve also called her that by accident, but she hasn’t corrected me so I guess it doesn’t bother her? But she was on the moon, and she’s back, now.”

“Your family is very weird,” Lena says, but there’s a smile on her face. Webby grins back, and squeezes her hand. Her very real, flesh hand. She’ll have to make Lena another friendship bracelet. Maybe more than one. How many is too many?

Her train of thought is interrupted by a loud “oh, phooey,” coming from down the hall. Webby picks up the pace, curious. It’s not Uncle Donald, he’s still on vacation, so Della, probably? But Webby thought she was out, too…?

It turns out that it is Della, glaring up at the ceiling. “Who stuck a mask to the ceiling with spears?” she asks. Lena pokes Webby in the side.

“Is that her? Della?” she whispers, and Webby nods.

“Hi!” Webby calls, and Della spins to face her just as the other spear falls and hits her on the head, followed by the mask, though that just lands on the ground beside her. Whoops. Webby put that one up there. “What are you doing?”

“Getting hit with spears, you know, the usual,” Della says, rubbing her head and kicking the spears aside with her metal leg. “Who’s this?” She gestures to Lena.

“Oh! This is my best friend, Lena,” Webby says, proud. Lena offers a wave and a half-smile.

“The shadow one?” Della asks as she approaches. She squints at Lena, who pressed back into Webby. Webby squeezes her hand, since that’s all she really can do, and also, Della’s not that scary. “You seem pretty real to me.”

“I got better,” Lena says, deadpan.

“I pulled her out of the shadow realm!” Webby elaborates, bouncing a little on her feet. “Well, this other friend I made helped, but she went home, and Lena’s okay now!”

“Huh,” Della says, “that’s really impressive, Webby.”

Webby grins, and nudges Lena, who just kinda nods at her like she’s not sure what else to do.

“And I’m glad you’re okay, Lena. I know what it’s like to be stuck somewhere alone for a really long time. I might not really know you, but if you want to talk about it…uh, I’m open?” Della shrugs. “But, no pressure, or anything—I haven’t talked to anyone about my own moon-related loneliness issues, so like. I get it.”

“…thanks,” Lena says, after a second. “I’m going to go brush my teeth, Webby, so you just…sit tight.”

“I can go with you!” Webby says, but Lena tugs her hand free and shakes her head.

“I’ll be fine. The bathroom is literally down the hall.”

“Okay,” Webby whispers, as Lena disappears into the bathroom and shuts the door. This is fine. She’ll come out. There’s nothing dangerous in the bathroom!

“Hey,” Della says, and Webby seizes the distraction, “you don’t happen to know where anyone else is, do you?”

“Mostly out,” Webby says, shifting her weight from foot-to-foot. “I thought you were out, too?”

“I was,” Della says, “but I think someone told Donald I was going to crash his vacation, because he’s avoiding me. I guess he’s mad? He even got the captain of the ship in on it, the guy insisted there was nobody named ‘Donald Duck’ on his ship.”

“Is he okay?” Webby asks.

“Oh, I’m sure.” Della doesn’t sound worried, just a little annoyed, and she is Donald’s sister, so it stands to reason that she’d know if something was wrong. Webby’s glad. She’s gotta focus on Lena, not on some other family troubles.  “This isn’t new. Once, he avoided me for a month when we were kids because I ate all his ice cream in secret one night.”

“Why?” Webby asks. She’s reminded of something similar—a past sleepover with Lena, where she was woken up by Lena sneaking out, for food, she said when Webby asked, and as they were heading to the kitchen, and saw Louie watching Ottoman Empire, surrounded by empty bags of chips while Huey yelled at him. There hadn’t been any chips in the pantry, when they looked.

“I was ten, I don’t know what I was thinking,” Della says. “Though it’s not fair, now. I thought he’d be more excited to see me.”

“Are you going to go back?” Webby asks.

“Nah, I’ll give him time,” Della says, “sneak up on him when he least expects it. For now, I might as well try repairing some non-family relationships.”

“Like what?” Webby asks, moving closer to the wall to hop up and sit on a table. She glances to the still-closed bathroom door as she fiddles with her friendship bracelet. Lena’s fine. If she was in trouble, she would’ve yelled for help. It’s not like Webby’s the only one who wants to keep Lena out of the shadow realm—Lena doesn’t want to go back, herself.

“I had a girlfriend, before I, you know, got stuck on the moon,” Della says, “Selene. Have you met her? Anyways, might as well see if that’s still a thing. It has been ten years, and I was assumed dead that whole time. Even if we don’t get back together, she deserves to know that I’m alive.”

“I met her,” Webby says. Selene had been fun. Webby didn’t know she was dating Della, at one point, though. Then again, it’s not like romance is a thing she thinks about. She’s seen it, some, on TV, but it’s never interested her—all of that was girl and boy and they kiss and Webby’s never really seen the appeal.

The bathroom door creaks open, and Webby jumps off of the table she’s sitting on, the panic that’s been beating on in her heart subsiding, some. Lena’s fine. Of course she’s fine, why would she die in a bathroom? That’s a dumb place to die.

“Well, have fun with your friend,” Della says, and she waves as she continues on down the hall. Webby nods, a little, hopes that’s a decent enough goodbye, and rushes to meet Lena at the door. She throws herself into a hug, and Lena lets out a little surprised giggle, and goes with Webby’s momentum to swing her around in a wonky circle. Webby bounces when she’s put back down.

“I was in there for like, five minutes,” Lena says, eyes crinkled in a smile.

“I missed you,” Webby says, and Lena blinks at that.

“Uh—yeah. Me too.” She takes Webby’s hand, and they head back to her room, and up into the loft. Lena sits back on the bed, and Webby settles beside her.

They’re quiet, for a minute, before Lena asks, “you wanna do anything?”

Webby shrugs. She really wants to exist in the same room as Lena and revel in that, but she doesn’t know how to phrase it. “Just wanna be with you,” she decides.

“I can do that,” Lena says, and Webby laughs, a little.

And they do, for the next while. Webby’s comfortable in bed and she doesn’t want to go digging around to find her clock, but she knows it’s late.

But it doesn’t last forever.

“Hey, Lena?” Webby asks, and Lena turns to look at her. “You…never answered my question earlier.”

“Which one?” Lena asks. Her voice wavers and Webby’s pretty sure Lena knows what she’s about to ask. She presses on, anyways.

“If you liked Violet,” Webby says.

“I don’t want you to be mad at me,” is Lena’s automatic response.

“I won’t,” Webby says, “pinky promise. You don’t have to lie.” She holds up and her hand, and Lena snorts but joins their pinkies, for a second, before dropping her hand back to her side. Something like a blood oath would be stronger, but it’s late and Webby doesn’t think Lena needs something that binding.

“I mean, I did think she was trying to trick you,” Lena says, “but after that…she seemed nice. I don’t know what you want me to say, Webby, I just…don’t want you to replace me, or something.”

“Replace you?” Webby asks, horrified. “I couldn’t ever replace you, Lena, you’re so special and important to me and—”

 _I love you,_ she finishes in her head. It’s not how she loves Huey, Dewey, and Louie, that type of love she can understand. This is something new and rare and it’s Lena-specific, something big and strong and different.

She thought it was friendship-love, but now she’s made a new friend and this isn’t like that, not at all.

“Oh,” Lena says, and Webby shakes herself out of her thoughts, because there’s no time for them when Lena is right in front of her. “That’s…”

“It’s true,” Webby reassures her, reaching out to take Lena’s hand. “You’re you. And you mean so much to me, Lena, okay? I’d never, ever replace you. I can’t.”

She’s crying, again. She sniffs and wipes at her eyes.

“Don’t cry, Webby,” Lena says, and Webby laughs, shaking her head. “You mean so much to me, too, that’s why I was so…I don’t know what I’d do if you stopped caring about me.”

“I’m not even sad! I don’t even know why I’m crying!” Webby rubs away her tears, but it’s no use as they just keep coming back. Deep breaths, then. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m so glad you’re back with me.”

“I am too,” Lena says. “I thought I was going to be trapped there forever.” She’s tearing up now, too, and everything is a mess and Webby’s so, so happy that she gets to live in this moment and have Lena real and solid in her arms again. Lena sniffs. “Yeah. Let’s try to invite Violet over, again, sometime. And I won’t distrust her from the start.”

Webby snorts, resting her head against Lena’s shoulder. “Uh-huh,” she agrees, “just friendship.”

Lena blinks the tears out of her eyes, and sighs. “Do I live here, now?” she asks.

“Who knows!” Webby says, and they’re laughing because it’s funny in the way things are funny when you’re crying and everything is half-blurred with tears. “If you want to, you can always sleepover with me forever.”

“I’d love that,” Lena says, and Webby nods into her. “It is pretty late, isn’t it?”

“Mmm,” Webby says, and Lena yawns.

“I haven’t slept in a while,” she says, “do you mind if I just…do that?”

“Go ahead,” Webby says, and Lena flops onto her side, rolling over to her side of the bed—because of course she has a side of the bed, and her own pillow that Webby could never find it in her to move, and good for her, because now Lena can use it again—and closing her eyes.

“Okay, then,” Lena says, “night, Webby.”

While Lena sleeps, Webby lays back in bed, staring up at her ceiling speckled with glow-in-the-dark stars that mirror the night sky outside, and keeps watch. She doesn’t need to, really, but she has to make sure nothing bad happens to Lena overnight. It gives her time to think.

Because she loves Lena. Now that Lena’s back, and she can stare at her like she’s the whole world…well, Webby always knew Lena was pretty, like, objectively, and always sorta thought about kissing her, because, well, who wouldn’t, but she thought that was just normal! Of course you think about kissing your friends!

But now…she’s made another friend. And Violet is nice, but Webby doesn’t really want to kiss her? So…does that mean it’s weird, to think about kissing your best friend? Webby’s doing it right now. Just a thought. Because, like, she could ask, and then…what? Does that change anything? She doesn’t really know how love like this works, is the thing, because she loves the triplets but they’re her brothers, and boys, and she loves Lena how she loves Lena! Is that different from friendship? Maybe. Because when she looks at Lena all these little thoughts keep worming into her mind. Like when she first saw Lena, her brain decided to take the backseat, for this one.

Is this what it means to love someone romantically? To look at them and think _I want to be with you forever_ and _I would fight the world to make you feel okay again_ and _I wonder what It would feel like to kiss you?_

Does Lena think like this, about her? Webby looks at her: asleep, curled under the blankets, pressed against Webby’s side. They’ve always done this, at sleepovers, cuddled like this, and Webby loves it, loves the soft closeness and comfort.

She’s never seen anything like her and Lena. She hasn’t seen much romance, in general, but in books and on the TV it was always a boy and a girl, and it’s mostly that in real life, too—she’s seen Uncle Scrooge with Goldie, she’s helped Huey set up a date (maybe?) for Fenton…but she’s never just seen two girls like her and Lena.

But Della said she had a girlfriend. So Webby knows this isn’t weird, but a thing she could do.

Love. Webby loves a lot of people, but none how she loves Lena.

“Lena,” Webby says, “you beautiful angel. How awake are you?”

“Neugh,” Lena says, and her eyes flutter open as she rolls over to look at Webby. She squints. “Webby? Uh, time?”

“Late,” Webby says, though she’s not sure how long Lena’s been asleep. “Like, past midnight, late.”

“Oh,” Lena says. She reaches out and pokes Webby’s cheek. Webby giggles, a little confused. “I guess I’m awake. Why?”

“Did you know Della had a girlfriend?” Webby asks, and she presses her face into her pillow as she waits.

“No,” Lena says, “but that’s cool. Why’d you wake me up for this?”

“I didn’t know that was a thing you could do,” Webby says, fast and muffled into her pillow. She feels Lena’s hand in her hair, and her heart flutters at the sensation, like the thrill you get from finally cresting the top of a roller coaster before falling back down. “Did you?”

There’s silence, for a while, and Lena pauses, her hand stilling. Webby whines, a little. To be preened is a nice thing.

But eventully, Lena speaks. “Yeah,” she says, “yeah. I’ve known and thought about that for. A while.”

Webby breathes out a sigh of relief. “Good,” she says. She sits up, turns to face Lena. “I…I think I figured out what it means to love someone. In a romance way.”

“Hmm?” Lena asks, and Webby feels heat in her cheeks and wonders if, in the darkness, Lena feels much the same.

“It’s wanting to be near them,” Webby says, “and wanting to have them sleepover always. And seeing them and feeling your heart do funny happy things. And thinking about them when you’re falling asleep. And looking at them and thinking that maybe this isn’t the same as it is with your brothers. And…and thinking about kissing them. And wanting to ask.”

“Well,” Lena says, and it sounds like she’s crying, a little, so Webby surges forward and wraps her up in a hug. Lena slumps in her grasp, and Webby can hear her shaky breaths. “If someone asked me, I’d tell them that I’m not a very good person, and that they don’t deserve to deal with all my issues.”

“I think you’re a good person,” Webby says, “and I want to help.” She takes a deep breath. “So, um, I think you know what I’m about to say, but…kissing? Is that like, an option?”

“Yeah, Webby,” Lena says, and she lets out a sort of breathless giggle, “ _yeah,_ let’s just. Do that.”

And they do.

Well, first they have to figure out how to position themselves—Lena’s face pressed into Webby’s shoulder isn’t a good way to kiss someone. Plus, it’s dark, and with the only light being dim moon, Webby can only see the shadows of Lena’s face. And then, as they’re leaning in, Webby realizes she’s got no idea what she’s doing or how to do it, but then they’re kissing and it’s…

Nice, is the first word Webby thinks of. It’s an underwhelming word for an overwhelming experience. It’s awkward, too, because Webby learns pretty quick that Lena’s also winging this, so their beaks clack together and they try again after a few apologizes, and this time, they do it.

It’s warm feelings in Webby’s chest. This is new, and exciting, and Webby loves both of those things, and she grins a little into the kiss and that like, kinda works, and she’s buzzing all over like she’s high on sugar, but she might just be high on Lena? She says as such when they stop kissing, and Lena laughs.

“That’s a good way to put it,” she agrees. “So.”

“So,” Webby echoes. She’s not sure what happens after you kiss someone. She wants to do it again! “Does this mean we’re dating?”

“I think so,” Lena says. “I’m in for it. Can’t say I’ll be the best at it, but I’ll try. I know I was… shitty, and possessive earlier, but I want to do better, Webby. This isn’t a lie.”

“I know,” Webby says, and she nuzzles her head under Lena’s beak. Lena’s her girlfriend! She’s going to have to get used to _that…_ “You’re really good, Lena. Even if you don’t always think you are.”

“And you’re amazing,” Lena says. “I want to be a better person, because you deserve it. And me. I deserve to be better, too.”

Webby nods, and closes her eyes. She’s tired. When did that happen? It’s late, though, and she’s comfortable, and she’s got Lena back and her world is right, again. They stay like that, holding each other, the two of them new and changing but the same, too, and there’s something that Webby knows to be love blooming in her chest.

Lena and Webby. Webby likes the sound of it.

**Author's Note:**

> i kinda forgot about ducktales while it was on hiatus but it came back and so did lena and i fell full-force back into LOVING WEBLENA HOURS and in the past week i have watched friendship hates magic at least....ten times....and remembered my intense love for both webby and lena and like, i had to write something for them. i love them. 
> 
> title comes somewhat from the song [lady stardust by lisa miskovsky](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvOk9YA-Z8E) because one day i starting associating it with weblena and haven't stopped since. it's....such a sweet song. these are such good ducklings.


End file.
